Summer 2019 Gina M. Finzi Fellows
The Lupus Foundation of America awarded six individuals to receive the 2019 Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Award.
The Finzi Fellows are spending their summer conducting research in areas that are critical to moving the lupus research field forward. The Finzi Fellows are mentored by an established lupus investigator throughout the duration of their research. The results of research by the awardees will contribute to new therapies, prevention strategies and educational interventions to better understand, detect and treat people with lupus. This year’s fellows are:
Philip Carlucci
New York University School of Medicine
Study Title: The natural killer cell ligand polymorphism HLA-C Asn80Lys and lupus nephritis.
Mentor: Robert Clancy, Ph.D., Professor, New York School of Medicine
Lin Chen
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Study Title: Ptprz: Impact on Tubules and Macrophage Mediated Lupus
Mentor: Vicki Rubin Kelley, Ph.D Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Erica Crosley
Emory School of Medicine
Study Title: Understanding Latino Lupus Patients’ Education Needs via Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Spanish-speaking Facebook Page “Hablemos de Lupus” (“Let’s talk about Lupus”)
Mentor: Christina Drenkard, MD., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Division of Rheumatology, Emory School of Medicine
Erica Moore
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Study Title: The Pathogenic Role of T Cells in Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Chaim Putterman, MD, Chief and Program Director, Division of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Kathryn Wierenga
Michigan State University
Study Title: Unraveling How Omega-3 Fatty Acids Suppress Lupus Flaring
Mentor: James Pestka, Ph.D., Professor, Michigan State University
Thomas Winans
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Study Title: The Effects of Rab4A Q72L Knock-In Mutation on Interferons I/II Receptors, Behavior and Brain Metabolome in a Mouse Model
Mentor: Andras Perl, M.D. Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Immunology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chief, Division of Rheumatology